


I Don't Dance - I Know You Can

by Red_Arting



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Because I Said So!, Brotp, Gay E.J. Caswell, Gen, I just need this scene to happen ok so I made it happen, gay Carlos Rodriguez, takes place after season finale, the schools doing HSM2, this is the brotp I nEED
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Arting/pseuds/Red_Arting
Summary: EJ Caswell isn't straight. It's something he has to confront. Maybe a fellow gay will come to help.
Relationships: E.J. Caswell & Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	I Don't Dance - I Know You Can

**Author's Note:**

> takes place after season 1, school's doing HSM 2, Seblos is flourishing, and I'm living my best life

EJ Caswell was straight.

Sure, maybe he crushed on his co-star in their third grade production of Jersey Boys and yeah _maybe_ his love for Troy was a bit more than just an appreciation for the guy.

But he liked Nini. He did. He had to. Because she was the Grabiella to his Troy and he was Troy. Straight, cool guy, Troy.

“Hey EJ, you okay?”

“Yeah I’m just…” _Just._ He shakes his head, plastering on a smirk. “Just fine. Surprised you actually care Ash.” 

Rolling her eyes, Ashlyn shoulders her backpack. “Ms. Jenn said it was a wrap till tomorrow, most of us are heading out for milkshakes. You coming?”

He shakes his head once more. “I’ll catch up with you guys, just want to get in a bit more practice. Really need to nail this before tomorrow.”

“I doubt you’ll have any trouble,” she says, getting to her feet. “See ya.”

He doesn’t respond, waiting for the door to click shut before unplugging Ms. Jenn’s stereo and dragging it on stage. He switches on the right track, running through the moves in his head that Carlos had showed him and Rico earlier.

“This is a very important moment for Chad, this is when he finally starts to open up.”

Cause yeah, he was Chad. Not-so-straight, still cool guy, Chad.

“You two can run through it tomorrow, just try to get into character. Imagine what they’d be thinking at this time. This is the building blocks of their relationship, try not to fuck it up.”

“Well thanks Carlos.”

Cause yeah, Ms. Jenn was all in favor of making Chad and Ryan gay. In her words, it’s just what “the show needs”. And EJ isn’t complaining. Well, he is. But not cause of the whole gay thing. Well yes, but no. It’s complicated.

“When isn’t it,” he whispers to himself. The stage was entirely quiet all for him. He sighs. “C’mon Caswell, you got that. It’s just acting. Nothing more.”

The song begins, the loud beats echoing through the theater. EJ listens to the words for a moment, heart racing. God, he needs to calm down.

“Hey, batter, batter, hey batter, batter swing”

“ _I've got to just do my thing”_

“Hey, batter, batter, hey batter, batter swing”

“ _Yeaaaah_ ”

He pretends to warm-up, mock swinging an invisible bat and stretching. For once, he felt clunky, so out of rhythm that he almost missed the next verse.

“-I'll show you that it's one and the same: Baseball, dancing, same game. It's eaaaasy: Step up to the plate, start swingin'”

“ _I wanna play ball now, and that's all_

_This is what I do_

_It ain't no dance that you can show meeeee, yeaaaah!”_

He wasn’t even a minute in and already he was messing up the steps. Thank god no one was here, he’d be the laughing stock for days. Can’t even stand on his tippy toes dramatically without falling over.

“Well that was horrible.”

EJ whirled around so fast he almost got dizzy. The chorus of I Don’t Dance continued to blare from the speakers and he couldn’t help but blush at just how stupid he must look.

“Aren’t you supposed to be drowning in milkshakes,” he can’t help but spit out. Carlos only rolls his eyes. God he was getting that a lot.

“Aren’t you supposed to be triple threat who can, I don’t know, actually dance?”

“Do you really want me to answer that,” he sighs, rubbing his eyes. EJ stumbles to his feet, slamming the music off button before the song ends.

“Were you even paying attention when I showed you-”

“ _YES_!”

Carlos pauses, not moving any closer. EJ glares at the ground, taking shallow breaths.

“Look Carlos, I get you’re trying to help or whatever but this _really_ isn’t the time, okay.”

For a moment, there’s silence, which is unusual for a room with Carlos in it. EJ ejects the limited edition HSM2 cd from the player and shoving it in its case. 

Carlos simply watches.

“You never have trouble with learning my dances-”

“-You don’t need to rub it in-”

“-which is really saying something cause sometimes I may go a teensy bit overboard with the choreography.” EJ raises an eyebrow.

“A little?”

“Okay, a lot,” Carlos throws up his hands dramatically. “But this is probably like the simplest thing I designed this week.”

“Yeah I got that.”

“So what’s up?”

EJ finally looks up from the stereo, sighing.

“I just… I’m not ready for this scene.” Carlos furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What are you-“

He pauses, eyes widening in understanding. “Oh.”

“Oh?” EJ glares, swatting his hand away. “There is no oh. It’s nothing. It’s just the whole uh baseball thing. Just not ready for that. That’s it, _okay_ ”

Carlos’s face, for once, grows soft, a face EJ had only seemed when the teen was around his boyfriend. Any dramatics seemed to poor out of him.

“EJ, you don’t need to be scared of it.”

“I’m not scared,” he clenches his fists. “There’s nothing to be scared of. It’s _nothing_! Everything is fine, okay, so just leave it, I’m serious.”

But Carlos continued forward, one step at a time, before finally placing a timid hand on his shoulder.

“EJ, I know we’re not actually friends but...I know exactly what you’re going through, okay. And I’m here for you. We all are. You can talk to me-”

“There’s nothing to talk about Carlos!” 

He grabs the stereo, roughly unplugging it before stalking backstage. He reminded himself to breathe.

“EJ wait!” Carlos grabs the dangling cord, trying his hardest to hold the polo player back. But as EJ was a polo player, and sports player in general, he had no trouble staying put despite Carlos’s best efforts.

“Just leave it,” he sighs. 

“I can help you,” Carlos yells out as a last ditch attempt. “With the dance. I can help with your steps.”

EJ pauses, head heavy. “Really?”

He turns around. He looked the smallest he ever has, so vulnerable and just so… so tired. Like the world was on his shoulders. Carlos’s face softened even more -if that was even possible- and he sends the boy a soft smile.

“Yeah, c’mon”

EJ lets himself be dragged back to center stage. The stereo hung limply in his hand and his feet remained planted, even as Carlos takes the electronic out of his hands.

“Lets go without the music, just focus on the steps.”

EJ slowly nods, getting into position. Everything felt stiff, especially compared to Carlos who looked like a walking noodle. Yet he still pulled it off. At any other time, EJ would be jealous of the other’s talent but any venom within him seemed to have pooled out. Honestly, he admired the guy.

Carlos was so full of himself, in a good why. He knew he was, what he wanted, and he was proud of it. Even back at homecoming last year, before Seb showed up, Carlos was fine with himself, he was embraced who he was wholeheartedly and wouldn’t take EJ nor anyone else’s shit.

He came out as he was and never changed for anyone. It was admirable, honestly. EJ only wished he had the confidence that he exerted onstage. Acting was just that, an act. 

“And a one and a two”

Carlos hums the song beneath his breath, eyes fixated on his feet as he reshows the routine. EJ eyes remain fixated on his motions, memorizing the steps in his head. The steps that were...already there.

Without realizing, he begins to swiftly move along, eyes no longer remained on Carlos because he didn’t need them. He knew it, he did. But he couldn’t stop thinking about Chad. Because yeah, EJ knows what this scene means, it’s clear as day. There’s a reason Ms. Jenn was adding the relationship to the show.

“You’re doing it!”

“No shit Carlos,” but he can’t help but grin. 

“Well then,” he chuckles, sending the boy a comforting smile, “maybe you do dance.”

“Yeah,” EJ huffs, rolling his eyes with a grin. A real, full on, grin. “Maybe so.”


End file.
